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Nigerian govt soon to end Niger Delta Amnesty Programme

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Nigerian govt soon to end Niger Delta Amnesty Programme

The Federal Government has hinted of ending the Presidential Amnesty programme in the oil region of Niger Delta, saying that the programme has achieved peace and other mandates for which it was set up.

This was made known by the Special Adviser to the president on Niger Delta and Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd), in Abuja, after a meeting with stakeholders to analyse the success of the programme.

Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had in 2009, at the height of attacks on oil installation in the region, set up the programme with the aim to ensure a lasting peace in the trouble area of the country. It was meant to last for three years.

Gen. Boroh, announcing the plan to end the programme said that the mandate to provide peace and stabilization in the Niger Delta with the programme has been achieved.

He said, “We have successfully trained a total of 21,805 amnesty beneficiaries in both our local and overseas universities and in vocational training institutions within and outside Nigeria as pilots, marine engineers, oil and gas engineers, medical doctors, lawyers etc, they have become valuable generation of skilled youths that are contributing positively to national development.

“Also, in line with government economic diversification policy, large numbers of our trained delegates are now empowered and deployed into various fields of agriculture and its value chain in order to revamp Nigeria economy.

“The services of 131 offshore universities/institutions to train 1,723 and from these foreign institutions, 1,523 have graduated with a balance of 200 that will graduate in 2018. 1054 ex-militants have graduated from Nigerian universities and there is a balance case load of 2843 that are at various stages of their scholarship programme and most will graduate in 2018.

READ ALSO: AVENGERS TO NIGERIAN GOVT: Brace up for a doomed 2018

“Also, the services of 200 local and foreign Skills Acquisition Centres was utilised to train 15,140 beneficiaries. Under its post training empowerment, 4,203 have been empowered and delegates have established their businesses, they are now entrepreneurs and are helping to provide gainful employments to other youths.

“With these, it is obvious that the programme has met its strategic mandate. This was achieved with the efforts of the federal government, PAP, PANDEF and the youth leaders. That is why we are highly desirous to wind down the amnesty programme very soon.”

The plan to end the Amnesty Programme is coming just as the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) on Wednesday announced plans to resume attacks on oil installations should the Federal Government refuse to free all militants in the custody of security operatives across the country and to restructure Nigeria.

 

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